Thames Water Utilities Ltd has announced that the Fourth Consent Requests it launched on 5 September have been overwhelming approved by its creditors, with a deemed approval rate of over 99%.
Ofwat has today announced the final decision in two investigations looking into the operations of Thames Water, who will face penalties totalling £122.7m. These will be paid by the company and its investors, and not by customers.
Thames Water chiefs were on the defensive when they appeared in person before the House of Commons EFRA Committee earlier this week in an intensive two hour evidence session which made for compelling – and at times uncomfortable – viewing.
Ofwat has ordered water companies to return £158 million to customers via next year’s bills over poor performance – the regulator announced the rebate following its annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance in England and Wales published today.
Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena MP has announced that he will bring forward proposals to raise the civil penalty for water companies who pollute the environment by 1,000-fold - from £250,000 to up to £250 million.
Water sector regulator Ofwat has today announced that most water companies will be hit by financial penalties because of missed targets - overall, almost £150 million in total will be taken off customers' bills in the next financial year at 11 companies.
Ofwat has confirmed that Southern Water will pay £126m in penalties and rebates to existing and former wastewater customers for serious failures to operate a number of wastewater treatments works properly deliberate misreporting of performance information.
Ofwat has launched a new consultation on strengthening wholesaler performance and service in the business retail market.
Following consultation, Ofwat has today confirmed that Thames Water will pay £65 million back to its customers as part of a total package of payments and penalties worth £120 million.
Thames Water has said its missed leakage targets stemmed from a decision in 2015 to develop an innovative delivery vehicle with its infrastructure partners to accelerate improvements which failed to deliver.
UK water companies are invited to join an upcoming webinar which will explore how the sector can take indirect potable reuse (IPR) from concept to full-scale operational reality.
James Sumsion, CEO of predictive water intelligence specialists Kohtari, says the water sector needs to take a giant leap forward, so that it can anticipate and act upon water quality issues - rather than merely react.
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”